All performers dream of their name in lights. My turn has finally come.

True. It’s not outside Carnegie Hall. But it is on an 80′ billboard on a major US interstate highway – the I65 heading south out of Nashville, to be exact. And I’m so proud to say it’s not related to some exhaustive FBI manhunt. What more could I ask for?

This is a digital billboard advertising next week’s (July 6, 2010) Chet Atkins Tribute concert presented by Artisan Guitars in Franklin, TN. While this picture shows “Featuring – Bob Evans”, if you stand there for a few minutes you’d also see the following fellow featured artists mentioned: Sean Weaver, John Knowles, Muriel Anderson, Thom Bresh and Tommy Emmanuel. It’s going to be a great show.

If you’re in the area (Franklin, TN), come on down. Tickets for the show are available through Artisan Guitars .

And even if you can’t make it to the show, be sure to drop by Artisan Guitars next time you’re in Franklin, or visit them online. This is one of the best “little” acoustic guitar stores around

On Dr. Bob’s Acoustic Tonic I return to my folk
and jugband roots with a collection of ragtime and blues tunes.

The album is a mix of vintage tunes from ’20’s and ’30s, by artists like Blind Boy Fuller, Uncle Dave Macon, Georgia Tom and others,
and more contemporary tunes written “in the style” by myself and friends like Colin Linden, Graeme Card and Howard Emerson.

Dr. Bob’s Acoustic Tonic is also a departure from my three previous CDs in that it is a vocal and guitar based album instead of being strictly instrumental. Consider yourself warned.

If you’re a fan of Michael Jackson, you’ve got to check out Gareth Pearson’s latest Youtube posting. It’s a terrific fingerstyle arrangement of Jackson’s Thriller. And be sure to check out Gareth’s many other Youtube entries.

If you don’t know of him, Gareth is a 20 year old (as of 2009) fingerstyle guitarist from Wales. Many people are aware of him from his “boy-wonder” phase where as a teenager he wowed people with his a technical ability beyond his youth and the ability to keep up on stage with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel.

Many kids go through the “boy-wonder” phase of dazzling audiences while emulating their early influences but then can’t seem to move on to the next step of finding their own voice through their own compositions and arrangements. Gareth is making that shift and is emerging as an artist with his own voice. Definitely keep an eye on him.